For this one I drew a butterfly that I saw on the cover of a magazine and then first filled in the black, let it dry and afterwards filled in the yellow and oranges. My favorite so far! I also did a quote for fun that I will post later. Sometimes I can't stop!

Thanks for stopping by! To follow my progress please come back often to root me on.

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As I mentioned yesterday I have decided to do something creative everyday of this year. I will choose a new challenge each month.

To help me keep track of my progress, I've decided to use this Goal Tracking sheet from elisejoy.com that is perfect for my needs. I could have made something similar myself in Photoshop or PSE, but I loved the idea of supporting a small business owner and a mompreneur. Not to mention, it is wonderfully designed.

As you can see, I am filling each circle with a different water-color pencil color in honor of my current challenge, "Playing with watercolor." Once I change challenges, I may fill the circle with something different. I like the idea of having it match the current project.

I love the idea of watching my progress for the whole year in one very easy to see space. I bought the PDF, so I am able to print out as many copies as I want.

In fact, I am printing out more to use to keep track of any time my kids practice their instruments or read. I think it will be very valuable for them to see how often they actually do those things. Not as much as they might think!

5/365: I've found myself writing directly on my paintings a little commentary about my thoughts while painting it. I do like the look of the handwriting, but it is a little odd to write on a painting.

How do you keep track of long-term goals and challenges? Let me know in the comments.

I will be sharing my challenges (almost) daily here on the blog, I hope you'll stop by often and encourage me along! You can also see my January paintings everyday & follow my progress on Instagram @ NihaoCupcake.

Want to be notified of any new posts on Nihao, Cupcake! via email? Be sure to subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription field on my right-hand sidebar. I'd love to connect!

As I posted early last month, I carved a stamp everyday in December. Loving a daily creative challenge as I do, I thought it would be really fun to continue on with something throughout 2015. Being a little daunted by doing the

exact.same.thing.every.day

for a YEAR!

I thought it might be better for me if I chose a different creative challenge each month. This way I could change up the intensity of the challenges when I needed a break yet still take on the huge challenge of doing something creative everyday.

At some point late last year, I discovered Crystal Moody who decided to draw a picture everyday in 2014. Her progress is inspiring and her drawings are endearing. There is just something admirable about observing someone with such committment and it is wonderful to see her remarkable improvement. In fact, Crystal is continuing this year by creating a painting everyday in 2015. Check out her current journey at Crystal's new blog: 2015 Year of Creative Habits.

It made me want to do something like that even more.

Now the benefit of doing the same thing everyday for a year is that you have the opportunity to get really good that one creative habit. I won't be able to do that if I choose 12 totally different challenges each month. The good news is, I can get creative with my challenges and repeat and combine if I so desire. I'm leaving everything open-ended to give myself ample room to challenge myself as well as succeed.

4/365 - My version of A Starry, Starry Night - hahaha! It may be simplistic and anything but perfect, but all of these have been so fun to paint.

The possibilities, of course, are endless! I'm having a blast so far with "Playing with Watercolor." I'm glad I phrased it that way. It is helping me remember that I am playing and if my picture is full of errors or looks juvenile - it's OK because it's all about having fun!

Have you ever done a year long project? How about a daily month-long challenge? Did you enjoy it? What did you learn? I'd love to hear all about it in the comements.

Tomorrow I hope to be back and share what I am doing to keep track of my progress.

I will post the results of my daily challenges (just about) everyday. I hope you'll stop by often to encourage me along.

Want to be notified of any new posts on Nihao, Cupcake! via email? Be sure to subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription field on my right-hand sidebar. I'd love to connect!

In 2015 I'm doing something creative everyday choosing a different challenge every month. In January I'm playing with water colors.

I've been inspired by all of the handlettering everywhere and thought I would give a little cursive a try. It is tough getting used to using a brush again for writing. I used to do a lot of caligraphy in high school (similar idea when forming the letters) and I dabbled in shodo (Japanese caligraphy) while living in Japan. I am definitely out of practice and need to take my time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Want to be notified of any new posts on Nihao, Cupcake! via email? Be sure to subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription field on my right-hand sidebar. I'd love to connect!

What better time than the New Year to start a Project Life album!? In honor of all the new Project Lifers out there and those starting a new album for the New Year, I thought I would publish a round up of some of my most popular & favorite Project Life posts with my best tips for getting started and staying caught up.

I love a daily creative challenge! If you are a long time follower of my blog, you know I have committed to doing the odd daily challenge for a month or so before, like Lay Out A Day or 31 Days of Blogging or my attempt at 100 Days of Sketches that only got through Day 14 or so. It probably won't be a surprise to you then, to find out that I have been participating in #CarveDecember, a daily stamp carving challenge in December hosted by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer over at Balzer Designs.

I had wanted to try stamp carving since taking Julie's Art Journal Everyday class back in 2011, but living in China, obtaining supplies was not very easy so it never happened! I'm so happy to finally give it a try.

Then started carving away, making sure to carve away anything I didn't want to show up on my impression.

My linoleum cutter has five blades to choose from so I changed them back and forth depending upon if I was digging away lots of rubber or I was carving details.

It is definitely addictive and not hard to do at all. The linoleum cutter cuts through the rubber like butter. So far, it is one of the most addictive and easiest creative challenges I have attempted thus far.

Here are my other stamps from Day 2 through Day 6:

On Day 2, I learned that carving slowly and not digging deeply with my linoleum cutter gives me more control over my design.

Day 3

A little cloud and rain drop to celebrate the big rain storm we were having in California giving us a bit of relief from our major drought.

Day 4

On Day 4 I made a rookie mistake and drew directly on my eraser but forgot to flip my image, which is important when carving letters. Luckily and "M" can sometimes work either way.

Day 5

I got a little more daring on Day 5 and instead of carving on an eraser, I used my Speedy Carve rubber block. I made another rookie mistake and thought I was flipping my design, "Noel," but didn't and started carving before I realized what I had done.

Never fear! I turned that Noel into the ornament you see below! Then flipped the rubber block over and did "Noel" the right way.

One evening when I went out, two of my boys got in on the fun and carved their own. I returned to their adorable stamps. I'll share those in my next #CarveDecember post.

In the meantime, if you want to join along, it is not too late! Check out the details at Julie's blog.

Oh, and don't forget to check out Julie's awesome book:

I'm posting all of my stamps everyday on Instagram. I'd love to have you follow along with me. It is truly addictive!

Now what to carve for #CarveDecember Day 7... hmmm... I'd love to hear your suggestions in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by!

FULL DISCLOSURE: A few links in this post are affiliate links that will give me a small commission if you happen to purchase something. Any money received will go towards covering the costs of running this blog. Thank you for your support!

Want to be notified of any new posts on Nihao, Cupcake! via email? Be sure to subscribe to my blog by entering your email in the subscription field on my right-hand sidebar. I'd love to connect!

As another year comes to a close, it is time to prepare for the new year. For many of us that will include plans for a Project Life album.

If you are thinking about starting a Project Life album to document the new year or have started one in the past but didn't get past the first month, this list of tips is for you.

Even if you never "complete" a full album from January to December, like me, you will document more memories & stories than you ever thought possible.

Before I begin, it is important to remember that the purpose of this article is to simplify your Project Life process so that you can stay caught up. It may not be the ideal way you want to do Project Life but you will stay caught up and your memories will be documented.

I am also assuming that you are doing Project Life on a weekly timeline. If you are using a different time schedule, adjust these tips accordingly.

As I always like to say DONE is better than PERFECT! So, keep that in mind as you read my tips.

1) Upload your photos once a week, but EVERY week on the same day if at all possible.

2) Print all your photos in 4x6 format. This will cut down on time in photoshop or other photo editing software. You will not waste time resizing your photos. If you want to put photos in the 3x4 pockets, trim your 4x6 photo down to fit. This means you may not be able to use that vertical photo that fills the frame, but that is OK.

Save it for a scrapbook page, a frame or you can do as I do and let it peek up over the top of your page protector.

3) Narrow down the photos for your book to 7-10 each week. Be ruthless! Which photo tells the best or most important story?

4) Print your photos the most "brainless" way possible. If that is printing them at home, do that. For me, it is getting them printed at Costco. I use the Costco plug-in for Lightroom and after my photos for the week are selected, I click publish and my photos are automatically uploaded to Costco. I visit Costco.com, place my order and pick up the next time I am in the area. I can also have the mailed to my house-free shipping for members. BRAINLESS!

5) If you have memorabilia you want to include, put it into your album immediately - tuck it in the pocket that corresponds with that day or week. Don't throw it in a file folder or a drawer. You won't need to look for it when it is time to sit down and work on your spread for the week. It will be there waiting for you.

6) Create a basket or tool box full of just your project life supplies. Limit yourself to your core kit, 2 packages of letter stickers (one large and one small), 1 package of labels and 2 packages of stickers or embellishments. By limiting your supplies, you will cut down on the time it takes you to make supply choices.

7) Use only one page protector design. Choose between Design A & Design D and use that one through your entire book. This will reduce decision making and will save you time.

8) Use the same photo orientation (horiz or vert) throughout your entire album. If you are using Design A, always take horizontal pictures (you can still take a vertical photo, but make sure you take a horizontal photo as well so you can use that in your PL album). If you are using Design D, make sure you always take a vertical photo for the same reason.

[BONUS TIP: It is good practice in photography, to make yourself take both directions. This challenges your to think of more creative ways to get the same shot and you may end up with a beautiful shot you would not have considered without this little exercise (just a little bonus photography tip for you)!]

If you have chose Design A and you have a darling vertical photo you'd like to use, see if you can crop it to 4x4 (with your scissors or paper trimmer) and adhere it to a journaling card or filler card and use it in one of your 4x6 photo pockets.

9) Write your journaling directly on your photos. Use American Crafts Slick Writers (or other pens that will write on slick surfaces and are photo safe) in different thicknesses. Write your journaling directly on your photos. This adds interest and saves time. And saves space. Of course you don't ahve to do this every time. Mixing up the thicknesses of your pens adds interest to your journaling cards. This saves you time but doesn't sacrifice visual variety.

10) Give yourself a realistic time limit when working on your album each week. Force yourself to complete your spread within that time limit. Set a timer. Trust your creative choices and go for it. Keeping in mind our main goal is completion not perfection or beauty.

Using this strategy you will have a ton of memories from each week documented. If you then want to add more photos and/or get fancy, you can spend extra time each week or go back later and add extra inserts with extra photos and memorabilia.

But if you are already having trouble keeping up, the trick is to focus on these tips and only these tips. Don't get distracted by extra supplies, more photos, extra inserts, etc, etc, etc. Remember DONE is better and more important than PERFECT!

The better you get at this simple process, the faster you will get and over time you will find yourself with a little extra time here and there to add in some extra creativity if you want.

That said, years down the road, the only thing that will matter is the words and the photos. And I would even argue the WORDS will matter most. The photos will likely be available in boxes or on computers or hard drives or internet servers, but the words those are the most important.

Prioritize. Get the most important stuff done first and then when you have some extra time play around.

If this routine seems too restrictive for you, consider relaxing your expectations. Maybe you only want to document your life monthly. Maybe you want to document as you go and relieve yourself from any restrictions at all. Simply insert a photo and add a journaling card to explain it. Don't worry about formatting your album in a weekly or monthly way.

What is your priority? What is your purpose in doing Project Life? Get clear and realistic.

For me, the top priority is storing my photos and memorabilia together. Second is telling the story or documenting a memory. My third priority is expressing my creativity.

Are your priorities different than mine? Let me know in the comments!

Check back soon for a wrap up of my favorite & most popular Project Life posts.

Do you have a Project Life board on PINTEREST? If so, leave me a link to your board in the comments because I love finding more friends to share inspriation. If you'd like to check out my Project Life board, go here.